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tv   News Nation  MSNBC  December 26, 2012 11:00am-12:00pm PST

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the country back from the economic edge. only half of congress is going back to business at andrews. the senate will be in session and the house on holiday. democrats in the house were amping up the pressure. house gop puts middle class americans in jeopardy while clinging to tax cuts for the wealthy. no 48 notice on house votes. the potus on his way to d.c. to address fiscal cliff for the middle class with six days left to act. gop still mia. joining me now from hawaii, kristin welker. was the president expected? >> we did expect that given there was no deal on the fiscal cliff that he would have to return early from his hawaiian vacation. he will be flying out late or this evening. the first lady and the first
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daughters continuing his hawaiian vacation. he will find himself in a similar situation. the negotiations are largely deadlocked. just to give you a sense of how we got to where we are, if you go back to last week, it seemed like the house and speaker were getting close to getting a big deal that would have included tax reform and deficit reduction. that fell apart. house speaker john boehner tried to get his own bill through the house. he realized he didn't have enough votes for that. that fell apart as well. the ball is in the senate's court. according to an aide, senate majority leader harry read will not bring a bill to the floor unless he believes he will not have the support to get it passed or at least not to block it. that is the strategy right now. president obama will be working with what ma jority leader reid trying to get something through. the president wanted a big deal given the time constraints and only six days left, he conceded
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to a big deal is probably not possible. the goal now is just to get a gap measure to prevent the steep tax hikes from kicking into effect and the deep spending cuts. right now that is the large goal. i can tell you that competence in lawmakers is dwindling according to the latest poll. 50% of americans believe that lawmakers will be able to prevent going-over the fiscal cliff. that is a drop from seven points from december 16th. consumer confidence in the lawmaker'sability to get something done. if we go over the cliff, it could have ramifications including leading the country back into a recession. >> can you tell me or do we know whether president obama spent any time on the phone with mitch mcconnell or john boehner or the republican leaders?
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that's a good question and has not happened during this holiday vacation. talks between the main players here are largely stalled. there have been conversations at the staff level, but only between democrats at the white house and on the hill. talks between the two parties have largely stalled here. they are going to need to come back and try to find a compromise to avert this potential economic disaster. some analysts are saying that the pressure will be enough to force all sides to come to the table to get that done. that is of course a big question mark that is looming over the next several days. public pressure by the way mounting not only in the polls, you have the coffee chain starbucks waging their own champagne. they have started writing come on the coffee cups assigned to lawmakers to get something done by january 1st. >> we will have more on that later. kristen well k standing in front
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of a postcard. national political report for real clear politics. also a cnbc contributor as well. as i mentioned earlier, the house won't be in session tomorrow. politico reporting that house gop leaders will be holding a conference call instead. what's most likely going on behind the scenes with gop leadership right now? >> i think it's just as kristen mentioned. pressure. that is that the house republican leaders are going to want to come up with the best side of the deal that they can come up with before they call all of their members back to washington for a vote. they promised they would give members 48 hours to get back hi here. the earliest is not until 2:00 or 2:30 on friday, but we are looking at a much later arrival. if they can get a deal done, they will hammer it out into new
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year's eve and new year's day. >> do you hope we are close to a deal? >> i'm at a loss for words. i wish i had a clue what's going on. i don't know whether we are closer to a deal. it's no indication that the two sides have done anything to bridge their differences. the president moved from 1.6 trillion to $1.2 trillion in revenue to $400,000 and shown flexibility on corporate taxes and boehner came with a plan b and can't even get the caucus to support it. i don't know where we go from here. if boehner and obama sat down, we would be able to come up with an agreement. we looking at the most likely scenario being a partial deal and maybe spending the first few weeks in january to hammer out something more
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concrete and long-term? >> absolutely. what may happen and what a lot of economists and others have been predicting for a month or so is maybe we go over a cliff for a couple of days, there after they do decide to stop the tax hikes on 98% of the people. it makes it easier for republicans to then vote for that. they are not voting for a tax hike. they are voting to lower taxes on 98% of americans after we go over the cliff. after we go over the cliff, that may be what puts pressure on a number of members to coming to o to have a deal after the fact. >> on our air a few minutes ago, this is what she said about the tax increase including both boehner's plan b and the plans that are here by the white house. take a listen. >> i think it is essential that we start talking about what amount can be passed on a
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bipartisan basis. i am to believe she shouldn't tax anyone right now. i would have supported plan b. >> how can the white house make a deal or tax increase palatable to republicans in either chamber of congress? >> i think you are going to have congressional reform here. i don't know if that will happen before january 1st. it only takes 51 votes to pass something. if we get past the filibuster, we have a chance. it doesn't have too take a majority of the majority to pass a bill in the house. all you need is say majority. you can pass legislation in the house. speaker boehner is holding this up. he refused to get his caucus together and a caucus divided because you have the tea party friends and the right winger who is don't want to go along. it's impossible to get anything done if you don't have a basic understanding of math. of president clinton calling it arithmetic.
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you need a majority. why are you trying to make it more complicated than it is. >> is mitch mcconnell going to save the day? >> i don't know about that, but let me take issue. the republican conference in the house is very conservative. we are seeing a very conservative conference that may not coming to to vote on something, even if nancy pelosi can corral the democrats, they need to pick off republicans. we don't know if any of them would vote for something like this. john boehner is ready to strike a deal. i'm not sure many others are. in the senate we have seen a number of conservative republicans saying they would vote. >> 20 republican votes? >> at this point it's very hard to say. i think john boehner would probably be trying to go in that direction if he could. we haven't seen enough house republicans come out yet and say they would support tax increases. if you have tom coal who broke with his party leadership and
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the party ranks about three weeks ago or so. we haven't seen enough say they would. i don't know that that's the right deal for that to try to strike. >> one of the strategies that republicans could very well allow us to go off the fiscal cliff. a few weeks into january they decide to take the vote on lowering taxes. lowering the race so they can say you know what, we voted to lower taxes. >> that's something that has been talked about. a lot of people were concerned they wanted to go over the fiscal cliff. they wouldn't have to go for a tax increase. then however it becomes no longer extending the bush tax cuts, but the obama tax cuts. president obama is associated with cutting taxes. there is political liability for them as well. the reality is they have to get off of this no tax increase nonsense. i read in the "new york times" the other day, no republican member of congress voted for it since 1990.
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do you believe that? we had two or three wars since that time? a tragedy at 9/11 and we had hurricane sandy. we had hurricane katrina and despite all of these, they are unwilling to raise them to support and fund our government. what does it say about the dysfunctionality? >> we will have to leave it there. happy holidays to you. joining me now on the phone, congressman gregory meeks. congressman, i just saw you downstairs in the lobby about two or three hours ago and you were waiting on a phone call to determine when you might have to go back to d.c. to hammer out fiscal cliff matters. have you gotten the call yet? >> we are still waiting. >> no word as to when you guys are going back? no sense of urgency? >> i think there is a sense of urgencey and we have to have a deal. i don't think that the speaker is going to bring back all the
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members unless he has a vote and that's what he is going to have a conference call. he's got to resolve his conference. democrats said they indicated to meet folks halfway. the government worked for his entire existence. i think the speaker is concerned about whether or not he can get reelected. he puts the bill on the floor without having all of his republicans on as i heard in your panel. the talking about i believe we can get 20 or 25 or more than that. the republicans voting for it. he won't get the majority and comes time for his reelection of speaker, he shows his vulnerability there. what they want to do, democrats have been ready to work and compromise and we know what needs to happen. we need republican who is are in a similar situation to be frank
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with you. i represent a district that is overwhelmingly democratic and i came to reconcile that i'm not going to get everything i want. i don't want to negotiate and i have to for the benefit of the country. you have a whole group of republicans who are in the predominantly republican districts who refuse to negotiate and refuse to move. you have to move for the benefit of the country. they haven't been on the republican side. >> how far members of the more progressive parts of the party, how far are they willing to move on medicare specifically to get a deal done? >> there is a fight there. there is a lot of people that are untenable. a lot of folks. however they understand if there is the right kind of deal on the other side, if there the kinds of taxes and increases on the rich and the kind of revenue that needs to be in there and we don't go over the cliff, all of
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the programs that would hurt the poor is ready to make substantial deals. that's what the president has been talking about. he wants to have a fair deal. a fair deal means that everybody will feel the pain. including those unfortunately and he wants to put some kind of tape in there for the movie. still people are going to feel the pain. >> new york congressman gregory meeks waiting on the call to get back to d.c. thank you so much. when he goes back to d.c., there is a good chance of having to take a train. the massive storm system that sparked tornados, snow, and sleet. a nightmare of people trying to get home after the holidays. 700 flights canceled today alone. then later here. new york newspaper sparks an uproar after posting the names of legal gun holders online. what that newspaper is now say
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being the controversy. as always you can join our conversation. we are on twitter. you can find us at "news nation." [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind.
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>> former south african president nelson mandela has been released from the hospital and will be receiving high care@home. he has been in the hospital since december 8th. he was treated for a lung infection and had gall stones removed. nelson mandela out of the hospital today. good breaking news to pass along to you. >> a deadly winter storm that claimed at least six lives is
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making its way to the northeast, disrupting travel along the way in a dig way. more than 1,000 flights have been canceled with more to come as the massive storm moves into the new york area. it brought with it high winds and snow and sleet as well. reporting now from indiana, north of indianapolis. >> hey there, craig. conditions are beginning to deteriorate. let me get you a live reading of how fast the wind is coming in from the northwest. we are looking at 14, 15, 20 miles an hour right there. 17. i have seen wind gusts of up to 25 miles an hour here and those come fast and furious. this is i-69 back here. moving back so you can see the visibility change as you move away from the camera. that's what drivers are dealing
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with throughout the midwest. it is this blowing snow and this is no middle storm. this is cutting an 800 mile swath across the united states from southern illinois all the way through here. through ohio and into western pennsylvania. really causing havoc with the airports. let's start with the one right here in indianapolis. we have 144 flights that are canceled that are gone. those were thousands and thousands of people hoping to get home after the holidays. that is not going to happen at least for today. it's not just this, but airports all over from dallas to chicago to cleveland to columbus. those airports are seeing lots and lots of delays and cancellations. a lot of people are going to be stuck for another day for the holidays. not only that, but the big mall is closed here. in canada they call this boxing day, the day after christmas.
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same here in the united states. we have people returning gifts to the mall. people using the gift cards that they found in the stockings yesterday. that's not going to happen. at least we have online shopping. here's even more bad news. another storm is coming and it should be here in the midwest by new year's. in indianapolis, for the weather channel, back to you. >> thank you, sir. in new jersey which of course was hard hit, people are bracing for possible coastal flooding and severe weather. they are busy stockpiling up on splice. for more on the impact of this and into the new year, let's turn to the weather channel. paul, what say you, good sir? >> good day to you. the good news is we are not expecting the widespread severe across the southeast or texas. this is the recap of the storm that started christmas eve and
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moving across the gulf coast states. we are talking three dozen reports. this is going down as a historic severe weather day. that's the bad news. also on the north side of the storm, they have serious snow coming down with the system. you can check out the numbers here. the winners or losers across the snowfall totals. likely impressive numbers. nine inches and many areas a foot plus of snow and it is snowing across the region as well. has itted snow that is already falling. combined with strong gusty winds. a blizzard going on across the ohio valley that is pushing into the northeast. here's the radar. the rain is coming into new york city. eventually to boston. you might start with snow and
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end with rain. heavy rain in the forecast. to two inches of rain with the system that is moving out and pushing on through the northeast. into thursday and friday morning. snow in the interior, we are talking sizable snow. additional 6-12 and get the great lake, some areas seeing a foot or more of snow as we head two days after christmas. we have an i zon that could be affected late next week. >> paul, thank you. coming up, a new update on george hw bush's health condition. doctors were said to be cautiously optimistic about a full recovery. plus -- >> i would have to study his record. i'm not going to comment until the president makes a nomination. >> former senator chuck hegel facing a tough time from both sides of the aisle if he turns out to be president obama's pick for defense secretary. we will turn to editor mark murray. starbucks sending a message to
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d.c. how they are using the coffee cups to inspire lawmakers to strike a deal on the fiscal cliff. this is one of the things we thought you should know. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?
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you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! . >> doctors say former president bush is showing a slight improvement after spending christmas in the hospital due to a fever. doctors are keeping a very careful eye on the 88-year-old who has been in the hospital for more than a month now. charles is? houston with an update. what can you tell us? >> i spoke with a bush family spokesman earlier and he told me that doctors are seeing a slight ilprovement in the former president's condition. his fever is gone. the 88-year-old former president remains in the hospital in
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houston where he has been since before thanksgiving suffering for a chronic cough. doctors remain optimistic that he will make a recovery despite the set back of fever and weakness. yesterday they visited for christmas and brought with them chinese food. it's a bush family tradition on christmas day for a dinner yesterday. the chinese food came to him. the former governor of florida plans to return soon. their sister dora is visiting the former president today and despite all this, doctors can't tell us when she will be going home. >> coming up, a newspaper coming under fire for posting an online database of local gun permit
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holders. some say the database puts their safety at risk. we will talk about that. a few days left for lawmakers to make a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. john boehner has not called members back to d.c. yet. we will get a live report on that. be sure to check out our "news nation" page and find all kinds of behind the scenes pictures at "news nation".tumbler.com. new years clutter is no match for someone with big ideas. with a new project in mind, some how-to knowledge to give us an edge, and more savings down every aisle. it only takes a few twists and turns for those bright ideas to make the new year even brighter. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. start fresh and save with hdx 20 gallon totes, a special buy at just $5.88 a piece.
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another update with six days to go before the nation goes over the fiscal cliff. president obama is due back in d.c. after cutting his vacation short. the house speaker has yet to call his numbers back to work. they are scheduled to return to d.c. tomorrow. we learned today that house members won't be handling any legislative business. one republican aide saying it's up to senate democrats to act
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right now. let's bring in the correspondent in d.c. luke, little to no signs that senators connell and reid are on the same page. how likely is it that the senate would be able to do what the house could not? >> talking to a few sources, folks say it's about 50-50 right now. the senate could have a mini deal done before the new year and that each minute and hour that goes by, that number would seem to shrink and it's less likely. we are told that senator harry reid is gaming how many republicans would vote for a mini deal and most likely extend the tax rates and those making $250,000 or less. obviously anything that goes forward, they will want to be law. they don't want to do that. he wanted to make sure he can become law. it's unclear whether that could happen right now. where we sit today, days out,
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the smart money is on us and gives republicans the ability to say we never voted for a tax increase. through congress they put a bill on the floor for 250 and below to pass that to save face. what would that do to the economy? we don't know. the result from that could purr action. >> we spent a lot of time about the tax rates. we haven't talked about the payroll tax. they go up. any idea whether this temporary deal would address those matters as well or is it going to focus on the tax rates and the spending cuts? >> one thing is an extension of unemployment insurance and millions of americans collect
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unemployment insurance. democrats see it as dimilative for the economy. they buy groceries and gas and they are not saving it. it helps growth. democrats would like to see that in exchange. republicans would want snag is say sweeter deal than coming forward in the new year. as far as the payroll tax cut, what it does to social security on both sides, could it be part of it? perhaps. unemployment is the thing that president obama would most likely see attached to any deal. >> luke russert on this wednesday. >> take care. good to see you. >> new reaction to the fact that chuck hegel will be nominated by the secretary of defense. saying "give chuck a chance." friedman writing " because he has rather bluntly stated that his job as a u.s. senator was not to take orders but to advance u.s. interests, he is smeerd as an israel hater
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at beast and anti-semite at worst. here's what was said over the weekend about his possible appointment. >> i don't think he is going to get many republican votes. i like chuck. his positions, i didn't frankly know all of them. they are out of the mainstream and well to the left of the president. it will be a challenging nomination, but the hearings will matter. >> i have to study and i'm not going to comment will until the president makes his nomination. >> here's editor mark murray. you have known chuck schumer, that can't be a good sign. >> it wasn't for chuck hegel. no one has been officially nominated to defend secretary for president obama's second term. they insist there really isn't a front-runner. all the speculation has been on chuck hegel. the former senator from nebraska. two problems for him right now. the one as you displayed in the
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series of clips, he is a man without a party. he's a republican that backed president obama in his presidential reelection bid and republicans are necessary low not pro chuck hegel. democrats know that he is say former republican. chuck hegel is a man without a party and doesn't have a big alliance or democrats or republicans and the other problem for chuck hegel, his nomination or presumed nomination is twisting in the wind because there is no structure to defend him at all. >> here's the other thing about this. first with susan rice and now with chuck hegel. the white house continues to float the names for possible cabinet positions to have them shot down by folks on both sides of the aisle. how concerned should they be about the optics of this? >> very concerned. you are right. national security has been seen as president obama's big strength over the past four years.
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he heads into a second term. all of a sudden there is the impression that he can get the role. all it takes for senators like lindsay graham, john mccain to stand up and say no. one of his nominees would not get through. in some ways if chuck hegel is going to be the person you might end up seeing the white house having to fight doubly hard after what ended up happening to susan rice. there was the impression and the white house said john kerry was just in the mix of susan rice when the secretary of state job. because of the impression they let her withdraw her name increases the pressure that they go fighting for chuck hegel even if they have to lose in fighting. >> if not chuck hegel, who? >> a lot of names on the list. chuck hegel seems to be at the top. the former top official in the defense department, if michelle would be picked and confirmed she would be the first female to head the defense department,
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other names and defense officials, ashton carter as well as rhode island senator jack reid who doesn't necessarily seem to be resistant to joining the cabinet and whose name would be floated if hegel's isn't. >> thank you as always, sir. >> thanks, craig. >> a new york newspaper is responding to massive criticism after publishing addresses of gun permit owners. here's the article from the junior of news that is sparking all the outrage. it is titled the gun owner next door. what you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood. the information that published isn't anything secret. it's something that anyone can access. in this case the data was published and as you might imagine, it spread like wildfire on social media, sparking thousands of angry complaints. what was the process that the paper took to get these names?
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>> they did what anybody can do and filed the freedom of information request and asked for the names and addresses of all the gun licenses. when they asked for it, they were able to get most of the information. they got the addresses and they got the names. they were not able to get the amount of guns or the types of guns. they got all the info and plugged it into a database and came up with the map. that sparked a lost of anger and a lot of angry comments. there were 2,000 comments on the page itself. the article with 30,000 shares on facebook. many people angry about this. some of the comments we can share with you right now that came in like wildfire. what a bunch of fools shlgs helping the criminals find guns. they should be held accountable. i would rather know which of may neighbors are taking psychiatric drugs than if they are legally owning a hand gun. when you can own a map of the
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unlicensed pistols, i would be interested. a number of them are angry. i couldn't find one that was in support of this. >> that's usually how the internet works. >> spreads like wildfire. >> what has newspaper said? >> they defended themselves and said this is probable information and have a right to know. they wanted everyone to know what was out there. they said that you shouldn't be ashamed of this. this is basically what anyone can find on the internet. the statement reads the massacre in new is top of mind for many readers. the conversation on our opinion pages and on our website has been keenly focused on gun control. the readers are interested to know and we obtained the names of residents licensed to own hand guns. i spoke to an expert and he said this was completely legal. they have a right to do this and it's not out of bounds.
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the only recourse is to go to the lawmakers and change the law. >> i'm sure that's what they started doing. more on this and we should note on today. we are learning the man behind that deadly ambush on new york firefighters actually used the same bushmaster rifle as the one used in the newtown shootings. we will get an update on that story. there is a lot going on and there a few things we thought you should know. a wise governor could announce who will fill the seat held by daniel inouye, the nine-term senator who died at the age of 88. starbucks have a plan to brew a fiscal cliff deal of its own from today through saturday. employees in the washington, d.c. area will be writing come together on every cup of coffee that they serve. starbucks ceo said on the company's blog, there moments in our lives where we have an opportunity to ignite tremendous
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positive change. remember the huge crowd on the national mall in d.c. from president obama's first inauguration? planners are not expecting anywhere near the same turn out for his second inauguration, january 21st. years ago hotels were at 98% capacity. this time around there is rooms up for grabs and you can get a decent rate. those are a few of the things we thought you should know. ♪ [ female announcer ] almost nothing can dampen a baby's mood, when he wakes up dry in pampers. unlike other diapers, pampers has 3 absorbent layers, for up to 12 hours of protection overnight, and more beautiful mornings. ♪ pampers. peaceful nights. playful days.
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starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. funeral services have been set for two firefighters killed by ambush. chilling details are emerging about the shooter. he used a bushmaster rifle, the same weapon used in the newtown shooting. he had a .38 caliber resolver. the ex-con left the typewritten
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note before fatally shooting himself as the s.w.a.t. team closed in. police found human remains in his house. those remains are believed to belong to his sister who lived with him. moving in now, analyst and fbi profiler clint van zandt. let's start with the note found in his home. no hint of a motive and he did write in part "i still have to get ready to see how much of the neighborhood i can burn down and do what i like doing best -- killing people." what can we glean from that note? >> we know a number of things, for example, over 30 years ago, he used a hammer and beat his grandmother to death with a hammer. served about 17 years in prison and came out and lived in a house with his mother and older sister. he and his sister didn't get along. he loved his mother and had nothing to do with his older
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sister. his mother died and there was a conflict as to who is going to get the house. his sister's body was found and she is dead. this may well be a significant mental health issue. one that went into killing his sister because he didn't want her to get the house and then acting out in this way and maybe, just maybe because of the other terrible shootings we have seen this month. this is how he modelled his behavior. this is the way he wanted to go. >> we know he had several weapons and the bushmaster that i mentioned and 38 caliber smith and wesson and as a convicted felon, we know he couldn't legally own firearms. do we know how he was able to get the guns? >> no. you know what's going to be interesting is on television, you and i see a gun and he types it into his blackberry or iphone
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and you find out, that's not the way things are with atf, the agent charged to trace guns down. this could take weeks to try to find out how the guns got in his hand. as you suggest, the bottom line is here is more case of someone mentally disturbed and someone who is a convicted killer who still had their hands on three weapons that he used to kill two volunteer firefighters, wound two others and wound a police officer, kill a sister and commit suicide himself. >> how much time did he get for pl bludgeoning his grandmother? >> 31 years ago an issue took place in the family house. this guy was about 30 years old and he took a hammer and beat his grandmother to death and told family numbers she fell down the steps. if we want to talk about significant mental health
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issues, if someone said in new york, a community i lived in for ten years, if you can kill your grandmother, you can kill anybody. i think questions are going to be number one, what's he doing with guns? number two, what's he even doing out in society to be able to do something like this again? >> clint van zandt, we appreciate your insight. a rift in relations tops the look at news. russia is step closer to banning u.s. adoptions of russian children. the upper chamber of the parliament voted in favor of that measure today. it is now up to president putin to decide whether to sign the move in retaliation for a new u.s. law calling for sanctions against russians found to be human rights violators. good news for netflix users. the service is up and running again after users in the u.s. and canada and latin america
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were not able to stream shows on certain devices on christmas eve. a lot of angry folks were out there. it was the result of an outage at a web service center in virginia. up next, disappointing holiday sales for retailers. it was the slowest growth since the recession. a new poll shows about half of americans are hopeful about their lives in 2013. are you more hopeful or fearful about what's in store next year? it's our gut check. as always, you can join the "news nation." there is our address. facebook.com/"news nation."
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. >> join the "news nation" on twitter. you can find the twitter page at "news nation." today of course one of the
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biggest shopping days of the year, it's a day when consumers try to ditch gifts they didn't want on their list at all. it has not been a great season. electronics and jewelry and home goods grew by the slowest margin since the recession. joining me now, kerry sanders. what's behind the holiday shopping slump? >> well, there a lot of reasons. there is trepidation about the fiscal cliff. people know if there is not an answer here to the fiscal cliff, they are going to likely see an increase automatically to their withholding on their paychecks and taxes are likely to go up. people may have been a little more frugal going into the holidays. on top of that, you have unusual issues. it is still a concern. on the flip side, there is a big day of people bringing returns. the mall here according to the people who work at the mall is
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as busy as it was the days before christmas. you will see that at a lot of places. people bringing items back and what's interesting is retailers have made it a little bit more complicated this year to return items in part because when you return those items, they want you to take the money that you got and spend it on something else. it's a slow process and another problem of course is this one caught me by surprise. $2 billion worth of merchandise will be returned fraudulently. that means that somebody by and large stole something from the store and made a fake receipt and came to the store with the product after the holidays and handed the receipt and the product over and got money back and walked out the door. they are keeping a keen eye on that. it is a sophisticate and costly rip off. >> did you have to take anything
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back yourself? >> they are going back. just too ugly. just too ugly. >> kerry sanders, appreciate it. happy holidays. time for the "news nation" gut check. are you looking forward to the new year. a new abc "washington post" poll fines more than half of those surveyed are hopeful, outnumbering the 44% who say they are fearful. there stark differences when you sprayed it by party. 72% of republicans are fearful of the next year, a 52% jump from six years ago. democrats on the other hand are feeling a lot better. 75% are hopeful. 20% said they are fearful. a 180 for republicans. what did you get? are you more hopeful or fearful about what's in store for the next year personally? go to facebook.com/"news nation." that will do it for this edition. i'm craig melvin for tamron
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